image:Hs-lloyd-and-luckstar-of-ware.jpg, alt="A greyscale photo of man in a fedora hat and suit with tie standing behind three cocker spaniel with light and dark patches.", The most successful owner at winning Crufts was H. S. Lloyd, pictured here with three dogs from his "of Ware" kennel including Luckystar of Ware, two-time winner of Best in Show (pictured middle). The title Best in Show is awarded annually to the dog chosen as winner of the Crufts dog show, according to conformation show rules. This title was first awarded in 1928, the initial winner being Primley Sceptre, a fawn

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

. Previously, Crufts had used the title "Best

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

", sponsored by the ''Illustrated Kennel News'', which was awarded from 1905 to 1914. Jackson (1990): p. 194 Jackson (1990): p. 195 The first winner of Best Champion was Ch. The Sable Mite, a Pomeranian. According to ''Crufts: The Official History'' the first winner of that award was the first dog to be considered the "best" at a Crufts show, although it only lists winners between 1906 and 1912. When Best Champion was introduced at Crufts in 1905, it was seen by Charles Cruft as an extension of the other titles already available at the show. The class was one of several classes reserved for Crufts subscribers at the cost of a

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

per year. Because of the restriction in entry, there were years when the winner of Best Champion was defeated in other classes which were not restricted to subscribers. Crufts was not the first dog show in the UK to introduce this type of title, the first event to do so was at the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Canine Society Show in 1900. The change to Best in Show was considered by the press to be of little significance and was not promoted by Charles Cruft, and did not require a dog to have won its

Best of Breed A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

class until 1936. It did however remove restrictions on entry, which remained until the mid-1960s when entry to Crufts was restricted to dogs who had already become a champion by gaining championship points at other dog shows. The most successful breed in the modern era since Best in Show was introduced has been the

English Cocker Spaniel The English Cocker Spaniel is a breed of gun dog. It is noteworthy for producing one of the most varied numbers of pups in a litter among all dog breeds. The English Cocker Spaniel is an active, good-natured, sporting dog standing well up a ...

. Of the breed's seven show titles, all but one of them were owned and bred by Herbert Summers Lloyd (known predominantly as H. S. Lloyd) from the "of Ware" kennel. Only four dogs have won Best in Show on more than one occasion, and on three of these occasions they were English Cocker Spaniels owned by Lloyd. The fourth occasion was a Labrador Retriever named Bramshaw Bob, owned by Countess Lorna Howe who is the second most successful breeder in the show's history as she also won Best in Show once more with another Labrador in 1937, Ch. Cheveralla Ben of Banchory. Although no dog has won Crufts more than once since H. S. Lloyd's Tracey Witch of Ware in 1950, owner Jackie Lorimer won the title in 1993 with

Irish Setter The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...

Sh Ch. Danaway Debonair and again with the dog's son, Sh Ch. Caspians Intrepid in 1999.

1905 to 1914

Best Champion

First awarded in 1905, it was listed as the 51st and last out of the members-only trophies on its introduction in the show schedule. The description of the award read, "AN ANTIQUE SILVER CUP, value FIVE GUINEAS, offered by the Proprietors of the "ILLUSTRATED KENNEL NEWS," for the best Champion of any breed in the Show. To be won outright."

1928 to present

Best in Show

Introduced in 1928, the prize was first described as "STERLING SILVER GOLD GILT 10-inch REPOUSSE ROSE BOWL. Decorated in flowers on circular base, for the best Dog in the Show. (OPEN TO ALL)". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Crufts was not staged and in 1954, the dog-based competition was not held because of the electricians’ strike. In 2001, the canine festival was held in May, two months later than planned, because of the foot-and-mouth disease. The show was not held in 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Most successful breeds

''As of 2022''

Most successful groups

''As of 2022''

Notes

*A ^ Ch. Wishaw Leader was registered as a Scotch Collie, a breed now split into two breeds,

Smooth Collie The Smooth Collie is a breed of dog developed originally for herding. It is a short-coated version of the Rough Collie of Lassie fame. Some breed organisations consider the smooth-coat and rough-coat dogs to be variations of the same breed. ...

and

Rough Collie The Rough Collie (also known as the Long-Haired Collie) is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Co ...

. *B ^ Not held as the venue was requisitioned by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

for use as a warehouse for military equipment during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. *C ^ Not held due to

and the change of ownership of the show from the family of Charles Cruft to

The Kennel Club The Kennel Club ("KC") is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also oper ...

. *D ^ The date of the event was moved from October to February, causing the event to skip a year. *E ^ The show was cancelled due to a strike by electricians. *F ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ The abbreviation Sh Ch stands for Show Champion, a title awarded to

gundog Gun dogs, or bird dogs, are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually quail, dove, or duck. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: retrievers, flushing dogs, and pointing breeds. Types ...

s and

Border Collies The Border Collie is a Scottish breed of herding dog of medium size. Widely considered to be the most intelligent dog breed, they are descended from landrace sheepdogs once found all over the British Isles, but became standardised in the Ang ...

for winning three Challenge Certificates under three different judges with at least one of those Certificates being awarded when the dog in question is more than twelve months old. *G ^ The abbreviation Nord Ch. stands for Nordic Champion, which is awarded to a dog with a championship title from three different

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

. *H ^ The abbreviation Aust Ch. stands for Australian Champion.

Citations

References

* * * *

External links

Crufts Best in Show Roll of Honour on Flickr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crufts Best in Show Winners Awards to animals * Dog shows and showing Lists of British award winners Lists of dogs United Kingdom-related lists